Alderman William Beckford

Profile & Legacies Summary

19th Dec 1709 - 21st Jun 1770

Biography

William Beckford was born in Jamaica in 1709, his father was Colonel Peter Beckford (1673-1735) and his mother was Bathshua Herring (?-1750) the daughter and coheir of Julines Hering of Jamaica. He was one of thirteen children. His father was one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in Jamaica. An extensive land and slave-holder, Peter served as a member and speaker of the Jamaica House of Assembly. His grandfather, Peter Beckford (c.1643-1710) had founded the family dynasty in Jamaica and served as lieutenant-governor of the island.The family's influence and riches in Jamaica were mirrored in the success of the London-based commercial branch of the Beckfords.

William was educated at Westminster school in England beginning in 1719. He then attended Balliol College, Oxford from 1725 where received a B.A. in 1729 and an Master's in 1732. In 1731 William moved to Leiden to study medicine and then went on to Paris where he gained experience at the Hotel des Invalides.

William's father Peter left his British properties to his eldest son and heir Peter and divided his Jamaican estates between his five other sons. Following his father's death in 1735 William returned to Jamaica in 1736 to settle his affairs. Several family deaths, including that of his older brother Peter, led to William's father's will being disputed within the Beckford family and the case was referred to Chancery. The case was concluded in 1741 and William retained his father's lands in Clarendon. In 1737 he was elected as a member of the Jamaica house of assembly for Clarendon here he was joined by his brothers Richard, Julines, and Nathaniel and by a cousin Ballard Beckford.

In 1740 the estates that William held in full ownership were Retreat, Kay's, Malmsey Valley and Danks in Clarendon and Bodle's Pen in St. Dorothy. He co-owned Lime Hall, Rock River and Croft's in Clarendon, Seven Mile Walk in St. Dorothy, Esher in St. Mary, and Guanaboa in St. Catherine. After 1740 he acquired Moore's, Harbour Head and Stanton in St. Thomas in the East, Ackerdown, Bog, Retrieve and Strathbogie Pen in Westmoreland and Drax Hall in St. Ann. Lands held by the Beckford brothers in Jamaica in 1754 totaled 42,075 acres, of which William held 22,021, Richard 9241, Julines 8197, and Francis 2616. In William's absence his estates were managed by Richard Lewing and Robert Mason - a power of attorney in 1761 gave them full responsibility for the plantations and the sale of produce.

In 1745 William purchased the Fonthill estate in Wiltshire at a cost of £32,000. The purchase was aided by a £20,000 mortgage from Sir Jacob Bouverie. The estate would eventually stretch over 5000 acres. William also retained an address in London - firstly at 12 Upper Brook Street and from 1751 to 1770 at 22 Soho Square. In 1762 he purchased Witham Friary, fifteen miles to the north-west of Fonthill. This required a mortgage on the property that historian Perry Gauci has suggested was approximately £31,000. In 1763 William added the manor of Eaton Bray to his property portfolio. William kept enslaved Africans to serve him in England.

William Beckford was listed in the Jamaican Quit Rent books for 1754 as the owner of 1027 acres of land in St Catherine, 40 acres in St Andrew, 2372 acres in St Thomas-in-the-East, 1000 acres in St Mary, 715 acres in Westmoreland, 7838 acres in Clarendon, 1713 acres in St Dorothy, 6920 acres in St John and 396 acres in St Thomas-in-the-Vale, total 22021 acres.

Alongside his acquisition of land and country houses he also collected art and books. His library had over 1500 volumes in it. There were portraits of William, his wife Maria, his father and grandfather, mother Bathshua, and sister Elizabeth, the Countess of Effingham. The work of Chippendale, Moore and Casali all ornamented Fonthill. William owned racehorses and he commissioned Robert Adams to design a hunting lodge. Planting 61,800 Scottish pines at Witham and Fonthill won him a gold medal from the Society of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce.

William settled into British political life with a parliamentary seat in 1747 which he held for the rest of his life. He became an Alderman in the City in 1752 and in 1754 became M.P. for London. In 1755 he became the sheriff of London. He was an active member of the London West India interest. He served as Lord Mayor of London twice - in 1762/3, and 1769/70. The most controversial incident of his political career was his outspoken supprt for John Wilkes which included two remonstrances with King George III in which he asserted the city's right to speak out.

William fathered eight illegitimate children (six sons and two daughters) by three different women. He provided for them including paying for their schooling and training. On 8 June 1756 he married Maria March widow of fellow Jamaica planter Francis March the daughter of Hon. George Hamilton and granddaughter of the Duke of Abercorn, a Scottish peer. Their only child was William Thomas Beckford, born in 1760. Maria proved to be a useful political ally through her friendship with Hester Pitt, the wife of William Pitt. William Pitt was godfather to William Thomas Beckford.

William died on 21 June 1770 on his way from Fonthill to London. A statue was commissioned in his memory to be placed in the Guildhall where it remains today.

William Beckford of Britain, Esquire. Estate probated in Jamaica in 1774. Slave-ownership at probate: 1356 of whom 718 were listed as male and 638 as female. 0 were listed as boys, girls or children. Total value of estate at probate: £114268.83 Jamaican currency of which £84159.39 currency was the value of enslaved people. Estate valuation included £0 currency cash, £0 currency debts and £18.5 currency plate.

This entry is indebted to the work of Perry Gauci.

Sources

Perry Gauci, William Beckford First Prime Minister of the London Empire (Yale University Press, 2013).

Richard B. Sheridan, ‘Beckford, William (bap. 1709, d. 1770)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. See also Sheridan's entry for Peter Beckford (1672/3–1735) in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.